Police should not care for intoxicated prisoners, B.C. watchdog report says
Intoxicated people are dying in jail cells in what the British Columbia police watchdog says is an “outdated practice” of holding them for their own protection when they should be getting health care.
A report released by Ronald J. MacDonald, the chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office, says detaining these people in jail offers no guarantee of safety or health.
His report released Monday says police officers should not be responsible for caring for intoxicated people.
“Too many people die in police custody, often through no fault of the police. The care of intoxicated persons should not be a police responsibility,” MacDonald's report concludes.
“It is a health care issue. It is time for government to take steps to facilitate the changes necessary to ensure intoxicated persons who need care receive it from trained health care professionals.”
MacDonald says there are options, besides jails, that are already being used in other places in the province, such as sobering centres or having health professionals on site to help.
“Officers and jail guards are not trained medical personnel, and jail cells are not the best place for such prisoners,” the report says.
“Holding intoxicated persons in police cells, ostensibly for their own protection, guarded by people who are not trained health professionals, is an outdated practice, and proven not to provide adequate guarantees of their safety and health.”
Outside the legislature Monday, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said he had just become aware of the report and will review it before making any comment.
MacDonald was unavailable for further comment on his report on Monday.
The report came after a man in Williams Lake, B.C., who was thought to be suffering from alcohol or drug withdrawal, had a “life-threatening health crisis” in RCMP cells last year.
The unidentified man was arrested on Nov. 13, began vomiting about 24 hours later, then was found struggling to breathe and was rushed to hospital.
The report says the RCMP's call for help was actually “optimal” for the man because his symptoms were serious enough that he was hospitalized, but any later would have increased his risk of death.
MacDonald says the officers didn't commit any offences in the way they treated the man but he has concerns about how intoxicated prisoners are housed in the province.
Jennifer Metcalfe, executive director of Prisoners' Legal Services with the West Coast Prison Justice Society, said she supports MacDonald's call for change and thinks it should include better medical support for people going through withdrawal after arriving in jail.
“I think it's important that people who are intoxicated or in withdrawal are treated appropriately by health-care professionals with compassion,” she said, adding that's not likely to happen if someone is held in a cell.
The Independent Investigations Office is a civilian oversight agency that investigates all officer-related cases where there has been serious harm or death.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Federal government to further limit number of international students
The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It's the government's latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians' ongoing housing and affordability concerns.
Search for suspect in Kentucky highway shooting ends with discovery of body believed to be his
Authorities say they believe the body of a man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on a Kentucky interstate highway has been found.
Here's why you should get all your vaccines as soon as possible
With all these shots, some Canadians may have questions about the benefit of each vaccine, whether they should get every shot and how often to get them, and if it's safe to get them all at once or if they should space them out.
Bloc MPs will vote confidence in Liberal government next week: Blanchet
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is likely doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
'I'm here for the Porsche': Video shows brazen car theft in Mississauga
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
Exploding electronic devices kill 20, wound 450 in second day of explosions in Lebanon
Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday that at least 20 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country. The explosions came a day after an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000.
'It starts off innocent': Manitoba man loses $185,000 to crypto-romance scam
A Manitoba man is warning others after he fell victim to an elaborate online scam over the summer.
Teen faces new charge in Sask. high school arson attack
A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.
Quebec woman charged with first-degree murder in death of five-year-old boy
A 29-year-old Quebec woman is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of a five-year-old boy southwest of Montreal.